Thrift Store Finds: Melinda's Spring Break Haul

As promised, I'm finally writing a Thrift Store Finds post.  Wahoo!  I had so much fun "Habitat-ing" and shopping other thrift stores like Boys and Girls Club and it really made me wish D.C. had more to offer on this front.  D.C. thrift stores are really, really picked over and have mostly Ikea items that were rejected from Craigslist or clothing, which I'm not into.  They also have a bad habit of marking anything decent to beyond what I would ever consider paying for second hand items.  For example, when I was shopping for china for my wedding my mom and I compared prices at our Goodwills.  Mine was double or triple the amount she paid.  D.C. folk with great stuff also often have estate sales instead of donating and many of the local shops pick up their pieces at these sales and mark them WAY up.  I am going to make a dedicated effort to get around to some of the thrift stores and consignment shops that are a bit further away just to check things out...but until then....here's my haul from Spring Break:

Cocktail Set - 6 matching glasses (only one with a bit of missing paint), one cocktail pitcher, and glass stirrer.  Habitat had the set priced at $12, but Briana's Habitat friend took pity on me and gave the set to me for $8.  This was a lucky find because usually thrift stores don't have an even number of glasses and the glass stirrer sealed the deal on this purchase.

Appetizer Plates - 6 tid bit plates made in France all in excellent condition for $13.  This was a bit of a splurge in the thrifting world, but they had just arrived at Habitat and they were in mint condition so I knew I had to snatch them up!  They were also adorable and have a different design on each plate.  Briana kindly pointed out to me that it would cost a lot more to buy something similar outside of Habitat.  I immediately remembered how much my Kate Spade tid bit plates cost and felt much better about the purchase. (Um, yes, I know that some of you may be thinking... If she already has Kate Spade plates, why does she need more?  All I can tell you is I love a party and I have a china addiction/weakness/illness; therefore, I'm fully willing to rationalize china purchases.  Aaaaaand, I always have Briana to aid, abet, and otherwise support my addiction.)  Also, as I was photographing everything I noticed that the cocktail set actually pairs quite nicely with the appetizer plates, which I didn't realize at the time...so extra bonus!

Candlesticks - 2 brass candlesticks for 50 cents each.  LOVE the shape.  They are a bit distressed, but I even like that about them.

Linens - 6 peach cocktail napkins for $2 and 1 damask blue table throw/card tablecloth with 4 matching napkins for $4.  I loved the fringe on the cocktail napkins and the blue table throw is beautiful.

Square Dish - Handpainted square dish circa 1958 for $19.  I bought this dish at a local antique store which is why the price is much higher.  The dish is signed, stamped, and in perfect condition.  I looked up the background on the china company and it is a Bavarian company called Hutchenreuther which was set up as a rival to Haviland back in the day.  It was eventually bought out by Rosenthal in 2000.  Right now, I've put it on top of my dresser and it makes me happy every time I get out my socks.

Retro Buffet Warmers - 2 faux wood grain buffet warmers for $1 each!  My aunt talked me into buying them after telling me she still has hers from the 70s and still gets them out when she needs to keep food warm.  Rather than buying one of those chafing dishes, which I think are expensive and not that attractive, I can throw a pretty cloth napkin over each warmer and put out my regular servingware.  They also don't take up too much storage space since they are flat.  This is one of my favorite finds as I'm always having trouble keeping food warm at parties or when I've got multiple dishes being cooked and coming out at different times. This was a great purchase - I did a bit of Ebay sleuthing and found them being sold for $15 each!  Until I get my dream kitchen complete with a warming drawer, I'm excited to have these!

The tape marks came off easily with a bit of Goo Gone

Ta Da!  All covered up and presentable for company.

And there you have it!  Those are all my Spring Break Thrift Store finds which total $49 plus tax and bring me tons of happiness.  Shockingly, TSA only inspected Mr. 3's backpack and our large suitcase transporting our clothes and several boxes of cake mix (Mr. 3 said they probably looked like cocaine bricks on the x-ray machine).  I was sort of convinced they would have lots of questions about my retro warmers and Briana thought that certain TSA inspectors might consider the brass candlesticks instruments for rampant bludgeoning.  Luckily, everything made it safely back to D.C.!  Anyone else had any great finds lately?  Anybody know of any great thrift stores in the D.C. area?  Share below!